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Wilhelm Foerster Observatory
The Wilhelm Foerster Observatory in Berlin is a large public observatory which allows visitors to observe the sky through several telescopes. The facility is named after the German astronomer Wilhelm Foerster.
The listed building is located on the Insulaner hill, a mountain of post-World War II rubble in the Berlin quarter of Schöneberg in the district of Tempelhof-Schöneberg.
Slightly west at the foot of the Insulaner at Munsterdamm there are the Planetarium am Insulaner with a dome projection and an astronomical library. All facilities are managed by the Stiftung Planetarium Berlin, and such combination is unique in Europe.
The history of the observatory can be read in an exhibition in the planetarium at the Insulaner.
On October 15, 1947, Hans Mühle and Hans Rechlin founded the Wilhelm Foerster Institute (Berlin South Observatory). The official founding is considered to be the granting of the trade license by the Allied Commandant's Office. The naming Wilhelm-Foerster-Institut goes back to Richard Sommer. He was a student of Wilhelm Foerster and long-time director of the planetarium at Berlin Zoologischer Garten station and at the Archenhold Observatory in Berlin-Treptow.
The first location of the observatory was the casino of the former general command in the ruins of General-Pape-Strasse 2 in Schöneberg. After the rubble had been removed, the half-ruin could be equipped with a lecture room for about 40 people, an office with library, a workshop, a photo laboratory and two observing platforms. Soon, the first school classes were given lectures and guided tours. Observations were made with home-made 7- and 8-inch telescopes.
In October 1949, the astronomical working group of the Archenhold Observatory and the astronomy courses of the Volkshochschule Tempelhof were moved to the Wilhelm Foerster Institute. In January 1951, the damaged Bamberg-Refraktor in the destroyed Urania building in Invalidenstraße could be dismantled and moved to General-Pape-Straße.
On June 8, 1953 the present association Wilhelm-Foerster-Sternwarte was founded. The institute was thereby transferred to the association. In 1955 the Bamberg refractor was installed there, a general overhaul by the company Askania in Berlin-Mariendorf, took place in 1962. In November 1961 the laying of the cornerstone of the new observatory on the Insulaner took place. On January 30, 1963 the opening of the observatory in the new building took place. The 12-inch Bamberg refractor stands in the eleven-meter dome, the 6-inch double refractor (Zeiss-B Apochromat + Busch) in the five-meter dome, and a 7-inch telescope on the platform. This made the observatory the largest public observatory in the Federal Republic of Germany.
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Wilhelm Foerster Observatory
The Wilhelm Foerster Observatory in Berlin is a large public observatory which allows visitors to observe the sky through several telescopes. The facility is named after the German astronomer Wilhelm Foerster.
The listed building is located on the Insulaner hill, a mountain of post-World War II rubble in the Berlin quarter of Schöneberg in the district of Tempelhof-Schöneberg.
Slightly west at the foot of the Insulaner at Munsterdamm there are the Planetarium am Insulaner with a dome projection and an astronomical library. All facilities are managed by the Stiftung Planetarium Berlin, and such combination is unique in Europe.
The history of the observatory can be read in an exhibition in the planetarium at the Insulaner.
On October 15, 1947, Hans Mühle and Hans Rechlin founded the Wilhelm Foerster Institute (Berlin South Observatory). The official founding is considered to be the granting of the trade license by the Allied Commandant's Office. The naming Wilhelm-Foerster-Institut goes back to Richard Sommer. He was a student of Wilhelm Foerster and long-time director of the planetarium at Berlin Zoologischer Garten station and at the Archenhold Observatory in Berlin-Treptow.
The first location of the observatory was the casino of the former general command in the ruins of General-Pape-Strasse 2 in Schöneberg. After the rubble had been removed, the half-ruin could be equipped with a lecture room for about 40 people, an office with library, a workshop, a photo laboratory and two observing platforms. Soon, the first school classes were given lectures and guided tours. Observations were made with home-made 7- and 8-inch telescopes.
In October 1949, the astronomical working group of the Archenhold Observatory and the astronomy courses of the Volkshochschule Tempelhof were moved to the Wilhelm Foerster Institute. In January 1951, the damaged Bamberg-Refraktor in the destroyed Urania building in Invalidenstraße could be dismantled and moved to General-Pape-Straße.
On June 8, 1953 the present association Wilhelm-Foerster-Sternwarte was founded. The institute was thereby transferred to the association. In 1955 the Bamberg refractor was installed there, a general overhaul by the company Askania in Berlin-Mariendorf, took place in 1962. In November 1961 the laying of the cornerstone of the new observatory on the Insulaner took place. On January 30, 1963 the opening of the observatory in the new building took place. The 12-inch Bamberg refractor stands in the eleven-meter dome, the 6-inch double refractor (Zeiss-B Apochromat + Busch) in the five-meter dome, and a 7-inch telescope on the platform. This made the observatory the largest public observatory in the Federal Republic of Germany.